Kay rises up after injury sidelines starting Cooper setter

When all-state setter Katelyn Stewart suffered a season-ending injury in the early going of tournament play, Cooper’s Torey Kay knew she would have to step up if the Lady Pirates wanted a third consecutive district crown.

Midway through the District 2-3A slate, Kay and the rest of Cooper volleyball are hitting their stride despite losing Stewart.

Kay is distributing the ball to a variety of hitters, also playing key roles up front for the Lady Pirates, a perfect 5-0 in district.

“I’m proud that I’ve been able to step up and take the role as good as I have,” said Kay, a junior. “I thought it would be a lot harder, but with everybody helping it’s been good.”

In a important week of district volleyball, Kay had 45 assists Tuesday in a four-set win against Shallowater, then notched 25 in a quick Friday-night sweep of Estacado.

She also had eight service aces on the week, and she is the Happy State Bank/Avalanche-Journal Female Athlete of the Week.

The Lady Pirates (21-7 overall) don’t rest all their hopes on one dominant outside hitter to lead the offensive output. Instead, they rely on distributing the ball to a bevy of options to lead a solid rotation.

“I have to be the leader with a lot of things,” said Kay, who also filled in for Stewart for a couple of weeks when Kay was a freshman. “All the seniors, we have eight seniors and they really help me. I’m only a junior, but I try my best to get everybody going before the game and bring everybody together.”

Cooper coach Courtney Pesterfield said the Lady Pirates switched from a 6-2 formation to a 5-1, where Kay must assume all of the setting responsibilities.

In relief of Stewart, Kay has played “amazing,” Pesterfield said.

“We knew she would get some playing time, obviously not this much playing time,” Pesterfield said, “but she really has exceeded our expectations. She works harder now. I think she knows that she has a bigger role now as the only setter.”

Pesterfield also said Kay has done a good job recognizing who to feed the ball to, and also maintaining a good relationship with her attackers — a necessity for a setter,

“We have a lot of girls that can hit for us,” Pesterfield said, “and so Torey works with them well and they have a good relationship with her as far as staying after practice. Some of them will (say) ‘hey, will you stay after and work with me on this?’ And she’s always willing to do that and really never turns down an extra practice.”

The Lady Pirates face Andrews on the road at 6:30 p.m. today in a district clash.